☀️ Arselia and Akonia

- Ah! Forgive me, Your Highness. My name is Celesta Wida Asukan, and I serve as the Minister of Development and Culture for the empire. Today, I am overseeing the process of accepting gifts for you and Her Majesty. The "redness" was concentrated in the area of the woman's abdomen, but it was not possible to determine anything more specific than that.

- Hmm, Daijin-sama... - Ayano almost choked, involuntarily repeating the title. - It's a pleasure to meet you. It's very commendable that you took this matter into your own hands.
She couldn't come up with a method to advance along the "red arc" in the current situation, so for now, she decided to postpone this issue.

The gift turns out to be a painting.

- Is this... how I appear in the eyes of the gaikokujin?... - she asks, seemingly addressing the surrounding space. - Heh... Well, that's fine. It certainly doesn't look as impressive in real life, but I think the composition perfectly captures the red and white colors and my reverence for the Kami-sama, and that's the most important thing, isn't it?
After reading the inscription on the canvas, she wondered why Guiyosha was signed in small print... She had no idea.
After reading the note, she simply smiled and placed it in her Sugukian diary on the appropriate page.
"If I helped even one couple in love, then my time in Anuzish was not in vain..." - perhaps this thought could even be addressed to Bruno-shinpu, if he had some kind of magical device for intercepting other people's thoughts.
- This is a good gift. Did she paint it herself?... Hmm... Apparently, she is a person of many talents.

After examining the remaining pile, she spends a few seconds in rather unpleasant contemplation.
She has absolutely no desire to open, or even touch, the box containing cow dung. Just looking at it - as if the box itself or its wrapping paper were somehow guilty - and the messy handwriting of the signature makes her want to simply burn it.
Taking a few deep breaths using the Nihon system, she transports herself somewhere in the haiden, where she sees the focused and endearing face of Minako, furrowing her brow in deep thought.
- ...alright, - she says to no one. - I promised to try, so... - she opens the package to deal with the most unpleasant thing once and for all.